5 Tips to Keep Your Dog Cool & Safe During Hot Summer Days

The Florida heat this time of year can be dangerous to your pup. Here are five tips to keep them cool and protect them from the heat while still enjoying activities together this summer!

Best Times to Walk Your Pup

Maizy on the go with her Messy Mutts Travel Water Bottle

Limit when and how long of a walk you take with your dog when the temperature is hot and humid. The best time to go for a walk is early morning or late in the evening. Before you head out for a walk, test the pavement with the back of your hand. If you can’t hold it there for five seconds, it’s too hot for your dog and their paws could burn. To avoid hot pavement, you can purchase booties to protect their paws. Don’t forget to bring water with you during your walk. We recommendMessy Mutts Travel Water Bottles. They’re ideal for walks, hikes and road trips. Just fold up the silicone bowl and press the quick release button to quench your dog’s thirst. The unused water drains back into the stainless-steel bottle and the bowl folds back over the bottle for easy portability. From now until 7/16/19, you’ll get $5 off all of our Messy Mutts Travel Water Bottles when you purchase one at our store.

Come in For a Visit and Use Our DOGPerfect Arena

Having fun in our DOGPerfect Arena!

If it’s too hot to go for a walk, escape the heat and bring your pup in to play, run around, and socialize with other pups in ourDOGPerfect Arena. The DOGPerfect Arena is air-conditioned so you can beat the Florida heat while still getting your dog some exercise. As long as we don’t have a training class or event going on, you can use the arena. Click here to view the calendar of a DOGPerfect location near you.

Never Leave Your Dog in The Car

We can’t stress this enough. Even if you think you will only be a few minutes, never leave your dog inside the car. On an 85-degree day, it can reach up to 102-degrees within 10 minutes, even with the windows cracked. Any longer and it could be deathly. Make sure you leave your pup at home, or find out if the places you are going will let you bring them inside.

Get Your Pup a Cooling Vest or Mat

In addition to keeping the air conditioning on for your pup, we recommend having a cooling mat or vest on hand, especially if you have a dog with longer hair. We recommend the Kurgo Core Cooling Dog Vest, and carry sizes small through extra-large in our store. Simply wet it with cool water, wring it out, and strap it on. As the water evaporates, your dog's temperature lowers. From now until 7/16/19, all of our Kurgo Core Cooling Vests are 10% off. Check out our other Pool Party promos here.

The best way to help your double-coated dog stay cool is to book a deShedding grooming treatment. Our groomers use FURminator Shampoo, FURminator treatment, and extra blow-out time to target your dog’s undercoat, which keeps them cooler over the summer. It also helps reduce shedding! Click here to book a deShedding service today.

We hope these tips help you and your pup stay cool and safe in this heat!